Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1322461
24 JAN. 1, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED TURNING POINT Notre Dame controlled the initial 13 minutes with a 3-0 lead and then drove first-and-goal to the Clemson 10-yard line on a 24-yard burst by sopho- more running back Kyren Williams. Two rushing plays netted only four yards, and then fifth-year senior quarterback Ian Book had to throw the ball away under duress on third-and-six. Senior kicker Jonathan Doerer, who earlier con- verted from 51 yards, then shanked the 24-yard field goal attempt to his right, leaving the score unchanged. Three plays later, Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence found wideout Amari Rodgers open deep on a 67-yard touchdown with 41 seconds left in the quarter — and the floodgates opened thereafter. Notre Dame had 120 yards of total of- fense and controlled the ball 11:03 in the first 15 minutes, yet still found itself trailing. Within a minute this sequence went from a potential 10-0 Irish advantage (or even 6-0) to a 7-3 deficit, and Notre Dame never recovered. STATS OF THE GAME There are three to highlight in contrast to Nov. 7: • In the first meeting, the Fighting Irish out- rushed Clemson 208-34, a 174-yard advantage. This time Clemson reversed that department with a 219-44 result, a 175-yard disparity. • As an offshoot of that rushing dominance, whereas fifth-year senior quarterback Ian Book drove the Tigers batty with his elusiveness and 67 rushing yards in the first contest, this time he was sacked six times and finished with mi- nus-35 yards. Meanwhile, the Tigers were much more confident in activating quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the read option (14 carries for 90 yards), whereas they weren't with freshman D.J. Uiagalelei (2 net rushing yards) at Notre Dame. • On Nov. 7, Notre Dame was 10 of 19 on third- down conversions (52.6 percent) while Clemson was 5 of 14 (26.7 percent). This time the Tigers were 8 of 14 (57.1 percent) and the Irish 3 of 12 (25.0 percent). THE FINAL FOUR Other than LSU's outlier season in 2019, the College Football Playoff has been a two-team show between Alabama and Clemson in the five years from 2015-19. It appears they will play for the crown again in 2020 after splitting the four from 2015-18. Later this decade we envision there will be an eight-team playoff, but even choosing four most of the time feels like a step down, and it shows again this year. After the Crimson Tide and Tigers, there is not much separation — specifically this year — among No. 3 and No. 4 with Notre Dame, Ohio State, Texas A&M and perhaps Oklahoma or even Florida. However, with a 10-1 mark featuring a triumph over Clemson, plus top-15 North Carolina on the road, Notre Dame's body of work absolutely gives it one of the four best résumés in the Football Bowl Subdivision this year. Recency bias from the loss to Clemson in the rematch should not, and did not, override it. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY LOU SOMOGYI OFFENSE: TE MICHAEL MAYER In a game where Notre Dame struggled to put points on the board, it's difficult to designate any one player as the top performer on offense. But tight end Michael Mayer continues to be one of the most impressive true freshmen in the country. He had little trouble making plays against a stout Clemson defense. Mayer finished the contest with a team-high five catches for 51 yards and was also featured promi- nently in the run game as a blocker. DEFENSE: S KYLE HAMILTON Throughout the game, it was clear that part of Clemson's game plan on offense was to do whatever it could to take sophomore safety Kyle Hamilton out of the play. Even Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly indicated as much in his post-game press con- ference, which is why it also hurt the defense when Hamilton was injured in the second half and left the game. Still, the 6-4, 219-pound safety finished with a game-high 10 tackles, broke up one pass and re- corded his first interception of the season. SPECIAL TEAMS: P JAY BRAMBLETT With the Fighting Irish offense stagnant for much of the game, sophomore punter Jay Bramblett gar- nered plenty of opportunities to show off his leg in the ACC Championship. He punted the ball six times and averaged 48.2 yards per attempt. He pinned the Tigers inside their 20-yard line four times. Bramblett also booted two balls more than 50 yards, highlighted by a season- long 59-yarder. TOP PLAYERS OF THE GAME BY ANDREW MENTOCK Sophomore safety Kyle Hamilton finished with a game-high 10 tackles, one pass broken up and his first interception of the season before leaving the game with an injury in the second half. PHOTO BY JEFF SINER, CHARLOTTE OBSERVER/COURTESY ACC MEDIA